* "A bright salutation of a story, with one determined woman at its center."--Kirkus Reviews, starred review
The inspiring story of the first female to run the Boston Marathon comes to life in stunningly vivid collage illustrations.
Because Bobbi Gibb is a girl, she's not allowed to run on her school's track team. But after school, no one can stop her--and she's free to run endless miles to her heart's content. She is told no yet again when she tries to enter the Boston Marathon in 1966, because the officials claim that it's a man's race and that women are just not capable of running such a long distance. So what does Bobbi do? She bravely sets out to prove the naysayers wrong and show the world just what a girl can do.--from the publisher
32 pages 978-1101996683 Ages 5-8
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The first female runner in the Boston Marathon was Bobbi Gibb. The year was 1966 and Bobbie was told she can't enter the Marathon because women can't run such a long distance. (I will wait while you take that in.)
So, what did she do? This was a chance to show the world that the rules did not make sense and had nothing to do with what women are capable of. 3 hours and 20 minutes--- she came in 124th...meaning 291 men still hadn't crossed the finish line. She was wearing a hooded sweatshirt jacket so the race authorities wouldn't know immediately that she was a woman and she had made the mistake of running in new shoes but she still ran a great race.
It wasn't until 1972 that women were officially allowed to run in the Boston Marathon.
Great story of courage, persistence, and gender equality written down to the personal level so we walk and then run in the shoes of a heroine.
Recommended by: Barb Langridge, abookandahug.com
